Kansas has 105 counties, the fifth-highest total of any state. Many of the counties in the eastern part of the state are named after prominent Americans from the late 18th and early to mid 19th centuries, while those in the central and western parts of the state are named after figures in the Civil War. Several counties are named for Native American tribes. The population of Kansas counties varies widely, with the smallest population in Greeley County with about 1,300 residents and Johnson County, part of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, boasting over 600,000.
County | County Seat | Established | Origin |
Allen | Iola | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Anderson | Garnett | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Atchison | Atchison | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Barber | Medicine Lodge | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Barton | Great Bend | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Bourbon | Fort Scott | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Brown | Hiawatha | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Browne County) |
Butler | El Dorado | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Chase | Cottonwood Falls | 1859 | Formed from Butler and Morris counties |
Chautauqua | Sedan | 1875 | Formed from Howard County |
Cherokee | Columbus | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly McGee County) |
Cheyenne | St. Francis | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Clark | Ashland | 1885 | Formed from Ford County. |
Clay | Clay Center | 1857 | From unorganized area |
Cloud | Concordia | 1866 | Formed from Washington County (Formerly Shirley County) |
Coffey | Burlington | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Comanche | Coldwater | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Cowley | Winfield | 1867 | Formed from Butler County |
Crawford | Girard | 1867 | Formed from Bourbon and Cherokee Counties. |
Decatur | Oberlin | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Dickinson | Abilene | 1857 | From unorganized area |
Doniphan | Troy | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Douglas | Lawrence | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Edwards | Kinsley | 1874 | Formed from Kiowa County |
Elk | Howard | 1875 | Formed from Howard County |
Ellis | Hays | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Ellsworth | Ellsworth | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Finney | Garden City | 1883 | Formed from Arapahoe, Grant, Kearny, and Sequoyah Counties |
Ford | Dodge City | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Franklin | Ottawa | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Geary | Junction City | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Davis County) |
Gove | Gove | 1868 | From unorganized area |
Graham | Hill City | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Grant | Ulysses | 1887 | Formed from Finney and Hamilton Counties in 1887. |
Gray | Cimarron | 1887 | Formed from Finney and Ford Counties |
Greeley | Tribune | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Greenwood | Eureka | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Hamilton | Syracuse | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Harper | Anthony | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Harvey | Newton | 1872 | Formed from McPherson, Sedgwick, and Marion Counties. |
Haskell | Sublette | 1887 | Formed from Finney and Ford Counties |
Hodgeman | Jetmore | 1867 | From unorganized area (Formerly Hageman County) |
Jackson | Holton | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Calhoun County) |
Jefferson | Oskaloosa | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Jewell | Mankato | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Johnson | Olathe | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Kearny | Lakin | 1887 | Formed from Finney and Hamilton Counties |
Kingman | Kingman | 1872 | Formed from Harper and Reno Counties. |
Kiowa | Greensburg | 1886 | Formed from Comanche and Edwards Counties |
Labette | Oswego | 1867 | Formed from Neosho County |
Lane | Dighton | 1886 | From unorganized area |
Leavenworth | Leavenworth | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Lincoln | Lincoln | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Linn | Mound City | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Logan | Oakley | 1888 | Formed from Wallace County (Formerly named St. John County) |
Lyon | Emporia | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Breckenridge County) |
Marion | Marion | 1860 | From unorganized area |
Marshall | Marysville | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
McPherson | McPherson | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Meade | Meade | 1885 | Formed from Finney, Ford, and Seward Counties |
Miami | Paola | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Lykins) |
Mitchell | Beloit | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Montgomery | Independence | 1867 | Formed from Wilson County |
Morris | Council Grove | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Wise County) |
Morton | Elkhart | 1886 | Formed from Seward County |
Nemaha | Seneca | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Dorn County) |
Neosho | Erie | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Ness | Ness City | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Norton | Norton | 1867 | From unorganized area (Formerly Billings County) |
Osage | Lyndon | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Weller County) |
Osborne | Osborne | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Ottawa | Minneapolis | 1860 | From unorganized area |
Pawnee | Larned | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Phillips | Phillipsburg | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Pottawatomie | Westmoreland | 1857 | Formed from Calhoun and Riley Counties. |
Pratt | Pratt | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Rawlins | Atwood | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Reno | Hutchinson | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Republic | Belleville | 1868 | Formed from Washington County |
Rice | Lyons | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Riley | Manhattan | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Rooks | Stockton | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Rush | La Crosse | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Russell | Russell | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Saline | Salina | 1860 | From unorganized area |
Scott | Scott City | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Sedgwick | Wichita | 1867 | Formed from Butler County |
Seward | Liberal | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Shawnee | Topeka | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Sheridan | Hoxie | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Sherman | Goodland | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Smith | Smith Center | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Stafford | St. John | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Stanton | Johnson | 1887 | Formed from Hamilton County |
Stevens | Hugoton | 1886 | Formed from Seward County |
Sumner | Wellington | 1867 | Formed from Butler and Marion Counties |
Thomas | Colby | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Trego | WaKeeney | 1867 | From unorganized area |
Wabaunsee | Alma | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Richardson County) |
Wallace | Sharon Springs | 1868 | From unorganized area |
Washington | Washington | 1857 | From unorganized area |
Wichita | Leoti | 1873 | From unorganized area |
Wilson | Fredonia | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Woodson | Yates Center | 1855 | One of the original 36 counties |
Wyandotte | Kansas City | 1859 | Formed from Leavenworth and Johnson Counties. |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated February 2023.
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